Tape Resist and Name Extension

We have an open easel in our classroom that fits three children at a time.  It was made specifically for our classroom by the talented husband of our twos teacher. I need to write a post on the creativity and efficiency of this easel because it is just fantastic, but for now we'll focus on one of our easel experiences.  At our easel, children choose the type of paint they would like to use as well as the brushes and paper.  Occasionally we will highlight a specific technique or type of material to expand their experiences.

A couple of weeks ago we showed them tape resist.  We added masking tape, scissors and cardstock to the easel.  We showed the children how to put tape on the paper across the sheet or in smaller pieces. Smooth the tape down with their hands and then paint on top of the tape filling the spaces.

Each child attempted this project with their own personality, some using a lot of tape and a lot of paint. Others using smaller pieces and creating specific designs with their work.  Some were very minimalist with their painting technique while others covered every spec of white paper.

                                               


The following day, we removed the tape and shared the paintings.  We talked about the colors we could see and what happened where the tape had been.

When I was hanging them up to display them, I made a sign out of tape which gave me the idea to create names.  The following week we extended this tape resist exploration to the writing center where the children "taped" their names.  This was difficult for some with curved lines and they had to figure our how to make straight pieces of tape curve.  Ripping them into little pieces worked well.  Some had to pre-write their name in pencil on the paper before taping it and others could visualize and tape straight away.  A couple with long names stretched across two pieces of paper.  With this activity, we suggested they try the water color paint to use a different medium with a similar technique.

With taping letters we were able to focus on some of the aspects of each letter using a different medium. Peeling off the tape from the dried paintings was good fine motor work as well.  

Give it a try...bet your students can't resist it :-)